Saudi-listed utility developer Acwa Power has signed an agreement with Sharjah Electricity, Water & Gas Authority (Sewa) to develop Sharjah’s first independent water project (IWP), which will help meet the increasing demand for potable water in the UAE emirate.

MEED previously reported that the proposed Hamriyah seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) IWP will have a capacity of 90 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD), or roughly 400,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

The value of the contract is SR2.56bn ($682m), Acwa Power said in a bourse filing.

The water-purchase agreement signed between Acwa Power and Sewa is for 30 years, with Acwa Power owning 45% of the project company, Hamriyah Developer Holding Company.

According to Acwa Power’s media statement, the plant will generate nearly 272,000 cm/d of desalinated water by the second quarter of 2027.

When fully operating in the third quarter of 2028, the plant’s capacity will reach 410,000 cm/d of desalinated water, which equates to potable water sufficient for 1.4 million people.

MEED reported in January that Sewa received a single bid for the contract to develop the UAE northern emirate’s first IWP.

The state utility issued the request for qualifications for the contract in October 2022 and received responses the following month. It issued the request for proposals in April last year.

Sewa will procure the water produced from the plant under a long-term water-purchase agreement. It will also invest in the project company that will develop the project.

A 20 MIGD reverse osmosis plant already exists in Hamriyah. It is being upgraded by Metito, which won the contract in March 2022 to dismantle and replace the existing equipment and structure, renovate the SWRO system and implement additional membranes in eight skids.

Other UAE state utilities, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) and Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa), are expanding their water desalination capacity using reverse osmosis technology to boost the security of water supply as well as to promote energy efficiency.

An estimated $11.5bn-worth of IWP and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) water desalination projects are in the pre-execution phase in the GCC region, according to the latest data from MEED Projects.